MT-STREAMS(9F) Kernel Functions for Drivers MT-STREAMS(9F)

NAME

mt-streams - STREAMS multithreading

SYNOPSIS

#include <sys/conf.h>

INTERFACE LEVEL

illumos DDI specific (illumos DDI).

DESCRIPTION

STREAMS drivers configure the degree of concurrency using the cb_flag
field in the cb_ops structure (see cb_ops(9S)). The corresponding field
for STREAMS modules is the f_flag in the fmodsw structure.


For the purpose of restricting and controlling the concurrency in
drivers/modules, we define the concepts of inner and outer perimeters. A
driver/module can be configured either to have no perimeters, to have
only an inner or an outer perimeter, or to have both an inner and an
outer perimeter. Each perimeter acts as a readers-writers lock, that is,
there can be multiple concurrent readers or a single writer. Thus, each
perimeter can be entered in two modes: shared (reader) or exclusive
(writer). The mode depends on the perimeter configuration and can be
different for the different STREAMS entry points ( open(9E), close(9E),
put(9E), or srv(9E)).


The concurrency for the different entry points is (unless specified
otherwise) to enter with exclusive access at the inner perimeter (if
present) and shared access at the outer perimeter (if present).


The perimeter configuration consists of flags that define the presence
and scope of the inner perimeter, the presence of the outer perimeter
(which can only have one scope), and flags that modify the default
concurrency for the different entry points.


All MT safe modules/drivers specify the D_MP flag.

Inner Perimeter Flags

The inner perimeter presence and scope are controlled by the mutually
exclusive flags:

D_MTPERQ
The module/driver has an inner perimeter around each
queue.


D_MTQPAIR
The module/driver has an inner perimeter around each
read/write pair of queues.


D_MTPERMOD
The module/driver has an inner perimeter that
encloses all the module's/driver's queues.


None of the above
The module/driver has no inner perimeter.

Outer Perimeter Flags

The outer perimeter presence is configured using:

D_MTOUTPERIM
In addition to any inner perimeter, the module/driver has
an outer perimeter that encloses all the
module's/driver's queues. This can be combined with all
the inner perimeter options except D_MTPERMOD.


Note that acquiring exclusive access at the outer perimeter (that is,
using qwriter(9F) with the PERIM_OUTER flag) can incur significant
performance penalties, which grow linearly with the number of open
instances of the module or driver in the system.


The default concurrency can be modified using:

D_MTPUTSHARED
This flag modifies the default behavior when put(9E)
procedure are invoked so that the inner perimeter is
entered shared instead of exclusively.


D_MTOCEXCL
This flag modifies the default behavior when open(9E)
and close(9E) procedures are invoked so the outer
perimeter is entered exclusively instead of shared.

Note that drivers and modules using this flag can cause
significant system performance degradation during stream
open or close when many instances of the driver or
module are in use simultaneously. For this reason, use
of this flag is discouraged. Instead, since open(9E) and
close(9E) both execute with user context, developers are
encouraged to use traditional synchronization routines
such as cv_wait_sig(9F) to coordinate with other open
instances of the module or driver.


The module/driver can use qwait(9F) or qwait_sig() in the open(9E) and
close(9E) procedures if it needs to wait "outside" the perimeters.


The module/driver can use qwriter(9F) to upgrade the access at the inner
or outer perimeter from shared to exclusive.


The use and semantics of qprocson() and qprocsoff(9F) is independent of
the inner and outer perimeters.

SEE ALSO

close(9E), open(9E), put(9E), srv(9E), qprocsoff(9F), qprocson(9F),
qwait(9F), qwriter(9F), cb_ops(9S)


STREAMS Programming Guide


Writing Device Drivers

May 5, 2009 MT-STREAMS(9F)